John Royce is a writer and horseman who grew up in Texas and has traveled all over America. The author’s love of horses and history inspired his award-winning trilogy about the colorful role of horses in civilization, The Legend of the Great Horse.

Mr. Royce’s background in horses includes both competition and coaching in equestrian sport, from his earliest experiences in Western riding to competing in Combined Training (eventing) and Junior Jumpers. He worked for Stadium Jumping, Inc. during its hosting of the 1989 World Cup of Show Jumping in Tampa, and managed his own facility, Kendalwood, a Hunter/Jumper stables in Houston.

Inspiration for The Legend of the Great Horse trilogy came in Boston, MA, where an early wave of corporatization in the mid-1990’s displaced the vintage collection of century-old used bookstores around Harvard Square. Browsing the book stacks of former professors’ libraries was a fascinating pastime that sparked the idea for the Great Horse story.